Wrestle me this
by deLattre
Summary: Wally learns a little lesson in humility during recess.


The spectators gave avid shouts of encouragement. They were divided into two groups of five, both surrounding a wooden table on the school's playground.

"Come on, Wally! You can beat him!"

"What's taking so long, Numbuh Four?! Finish him already!"

"Come on, Wilson! Teach that bully some manners!"

"He's wavering! Just think of the look on his face when he loses!"

At the table itself, Wallabee Beetles and Wilson Woodrow were locked in an epic arm wrestling battle, the likes of which Gallagher hadn't seen in days.

Nearly a minute into the contest, Wally and Wilson appeared evenly matched: their arms constantly wobbled from left to right and vice versa, but overall remained straight.

"Come on Wilson, ya can do better than that!" Wally taunted. The Aussie smirked. This was almost too easy. He knew how much effort it was costing Wilson to hold his own-his teeth were clenched and his face purple from concentration. Wilson was better than Wally's previous four opponents-none of them had lasted more than thirty seconds-but not nearly good enough to beat him.

Eventually, he decided it was time to end this battle. He applied his full strength, and the other boy's arm was swiftly pushed downwards. Twenty degrees from the table, Wilson made a desperate exertion, checking Wally's progress. The spectators gasped. Were they about to witness a comeback?

"Don't give up, Wilson!" shouted Jimmy Garfield. "If you win this I promise to make you my presidential spokesman!"

Unfortunately for Wilson, his effort simply couldn't be sustained; it was too great. Soon he weakened, and Wally slammed his arm into the table.

The audience in Wally's corner cheered, and Hoagie clapped him on the back. "Wow, five victories in a row! You're on a winning streak, Numbuh Four!"

"Good effort, mate!" the blond-haired boy said to Wilson, shaking his hand.

"Thanks. I guess." replied the loser, not bothering to conceal his sullenness. "Here's your quarter." He dropped twenty five cents on the wooden surface-the amount of money they'd staked on the fight.

Wally proceeded to stand up on the tabletop and raise his arms triumphantly. "Who's next?! Anyone else want a go?!"

"Actually, I think I would like a go, Numbuh Four!" came a loud, acerbic voice behind him. He whirled around. It was Fanny Fulbright, arms crossed and with a smile on her face. "I could not help but notice that no girls have challenged you so far!" she added.

"Of course they haven't." replied Wally dismissively. "Everyone knows that girls can't arm-wrestle."

"Is that so?" said Fanny in sweet tone that sounded curiously out-of-place. "Then why don't you prove it. Let's fight right now!"

"Uh, look Fanny-

"Unless you're too _afraid_, of course!"

Wally was about to reply that he didn't want to embarass her, until several girls behind him snickered. At once he changed his mind. He didn't like tangling with girls in physical competitions, since there was no glory to be won. But his reputation was clearly at stake, so he had no choice.

"All right, but ya asked for it!" he declared, jumping off the table and sitting down.

"Maybe you shouldn't fight her, Wally." advised Kuki. "Fanny's stronger than she looks. She does weightlifting."

Poor, sweet, Kuki, always coming to Fanny's rescue. No matter how much weightlifting girls did, they could never be as strong as boys. "Yeah, yeah, I'm sure she does, Kuki."

As Fanny took her seat, Wally jingled the quarters he had won in his previous fights absent-mindedly. He almost asked if she wanted to bet something, but decided against it. It would be bad sportsmanship.

Presently they placed their arms on the table and clasped hands.

The spectators held their breaths.

"On the count of three, then." spoke Fanny keenly. "One, two, three, GO!"

Wally began with a gentle, half-hearted push, but to his astonishment the Irish girl quickly pushed the battle line downwards. By the time he collected himself his arm was halfway to the table's surface. Only good reflexes and a fortuitous lull in her attack allowed him to restore the initial front. Okay, he definitely wasn't playing around anymore. Kuki had been right: Fanny was impossibly strong. It was taking all his power merely to hold his own. How was it possible? Weightlifting or not, no girl should be able to match his strength. He made a spirited attempt to gain the upper hand, but to no avail. Fanny was like a stone wall: she couldn't be budged.

There were no tricks or subtleties in this sport, only common sense. The only thing he could do was to wait for Fanny to burn herself out. No doubt that event would happen any second…there was no way she could maintain her current level of pressure for long.

So he remained on the defensive and waited. Twenty seconds elapsed, then thirty, then forty, and still Fanny didn't relent. On a few occasions she paused for a moment, allowing Wally to catch his breath, but it wasn't enough. A sense of panic began to creep through Wally's mind. Was the crud was going on? Why wasn't she slowing down? His own reserves of strength were shrinking. At best, he could hold out a minute at this rate. Beyond then, there would be nothing between his right arm and the table.

Another half-minute elapsed. At that point he glanced at Fanny. To his disappointment, she didn't seem to be trying her hardest. In fact, she looked quite relaxed. "What's the matter, Wally? Getting tired?" she asked.

"_Nghh_! Actually, ah could keep this up all day!" Pure masquerading. Even as he spoke, he felt his energy dwindle. But he made sure not to concede an inch. The last thing he wanted right now was to show weakness.

"Give it up, toots!" called Hoagie. "You know you can't win."

Wally laughed at the remark, if only because of Fanny's reaction. The global tactical officer's cheeks turned a deep shade of red-as red as her hair, actually. "Grrrr! I'll settle with you afterwards, Hoagie Gilligan!" she yelled.

Unfortunately, Fanny's anger at the comment only inspired her to redouble her efforts. Wally's situation was now disastrous. He was running on sheer willpower. And the moment he faltered…

Well if he was going to go down, he may as well go down with honor. He decided to hold on for thirty more seconds. His muscles screamed at him to give up, but pride drove him on. Pride gave him extra vitality, too-he pushed so hard that Fanny's eyes widened in fear and she gave a small amount of ground.

_22, 23, 24. _Wally looked at the watch on his wrist his parents had given him specially for this kind of competition. Just a bit longer.

_28, 29, 30. _He had done it! He had gone the distance, more or less. At last, having nothing more to give, he stopped resisting.

The result was inevitable. Immediately Fanny began pushing his arm down. She kept going, until Wally's orange sleeve was firmly pressed against the table's surface. And that was that.

Wally set there blankly, struggling to process what had just happened. He had lost…to a girl. The phrase played over and over again in his mind, but it didn't make sense. His supporters were obviously baffled too: they weren't saying anything.

On the other hand, Fanny looked like she had just discovered the fourth flavor. "YES! I did it! Haha! Take that, _boy_!" she shouted, punching her hand in the air. The kids who had encouraged her were equally ecstatic. They gathered around the victor, high-fiving her and heaping compliments on her.

"Way to go, Fanny. I knew you could do it!"

"I take back everything bad I ever said about you!"

"That was amazing!"

"Now _that_ is how you armwrestle!"

Fanny held up her hand. "I'm flattered by your attention, girls, but there's something I have to do first."

She got up and stormed towards Hoagie. "Now, what was it you called me, Hoagie? Do you want to repeat it?!"

A look of terror appeared on Hoagie's face as he realized what he had done. "No wait, uh, I called you Fanny, I promise! Help! Someone!"

Fanny reached the pilot and lifted him up by his shirt. "That's not what I heard!"

"I was only joking, honest!"

Fanny paused, fist hovering in front of Hoagie's head. "Hmmph. Well next time, keep your jokes to yourself!"

"Let's go to the jungle gym, Fanny!" suggested one of the girls. "You have to tell the rest of the school about your victory!"

Wally watched the global tactical officer and her fans walk away. He heard the two boys in the group banter merrily.

"I must admit, that was one mighty satisfying victory. The great Wallabee Beetles gets what he deserves."

"Tell me about it! And did you see the look on his face? It was priceless!"

The rest of the spectators soon followed, except Hoagie, leaving the Aussie alone at the table. He pulled out his winnings from his pocket and stared at them disconsolately. He was supposed to be the best arm-wrestlers of his age at Gallagher. How could he have lost to her? It was like he hadn't progressed at all since the day he began working out. At least no one had teased him for losing except Fanny, but how long could that last?

Hoagie walked up to him. "Hey, Numbuh Four?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't feel bad about losing. It happens to everyone. Even champions."

"But this is different." pointed out Wally. "Ah lost to a-

"I know, I know." Hoagie said mildly. "But she's really, really strong. That's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Ah guess. Ah didn't know sheilas could be that strong." mused the combat specialist, rubbing his aching arm.

The school bell rang, signaling the end of recess.

"You'll know for next time. Anyway, aren't you gonna ask her for a rematch?"

Suddenly, Wally felt his spirit soar. He hadn't even considered the possibility of a rematch. "Yeah, of course ah will! But I'm gonna need to train a lot."

"Do you need a manager?" asked Hoagie, eyes full of enthusiasm.

Wally smiled a little. "Yeah, sure. Ah'll need all the help ah can get."

The two friends made their way inside, discussing what strategy might enable them to avenge Wally's humiliation.


End file.
